European Union rejects demands of 2 million European citizens

Today the European Commission delivered its communication on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) ‘One of Us,’ rejecting the demands of 2 million Europeans from 20 EU Member States.

As the most successful ECI in EU history, the One of Us initiative deserved action from the European Commission. One of Us demanded that no EU funds go to the destruction of human embryos and called on the Commission to adopt legislation affirming this. Yet today the Commission chose to refrain from taking any legislative action on the petition, effectively ignoring those 2 million European voices.

The Commission decision calls into question the democratic intent of the ECI mechanism. The One of Us example shows that what the people want can simply be ignored by those in power. This delegitimizes the entire ECI process.

One of Us has not given up. The Commission decision will now likely be appealed to the Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which has already recognized the value of human life before birth. World Youth Alliance Europe will continue to update you on the proceedings, and we continue to support our friends working on behalf of One of Us.